buyer requests declaring lower price to avoid import duties

[2611geoff]

Hi All , just sold an item that i thought would be posted to the US---buyer ID stated that they resided in theUS.

Paypal payment showed shipping address to be Turkey.

Message left with that payment requested the following

"dear sir , please mark value  X$ on declaration to avoid problems at Turkish customs , otherwise they hold items and ask for bribes and usually items get lost"

**bleep**.

Where does this leave me?

The buyer is registered in the US has 200 transactions , 100%

I fear sending the item to Turkey ,  if it all goes pear shaped ,  i lose product and money.

Any thoughts

Regards

[2611geoff]

Hi , Lindal , what confuses me is that , me being an aussie seller ,  then our rules should apply , after all it is seller protection------isn't it!!!!.

Regards

[2611geoff]

Hi Imastawka , the payment was in US $ , but that could come from anywhere.

The only thing i know is his ID said "resides in the USA" , but that could be when he joined in 2003.

Regards

[phorum_junkie*]

what confuses me is that , me being an aussie seller ,  then our rules should apply ,

Some time ago ebay's international seling agreement was instigated stating that protection applied to the rules of the site the buyer purchased through. When you frst list internationally you have to tick the box to say you have read the policy and agree to abide by it so yu should know that it is the site the buyer purchases through that dictates the protection terms.

[lyndal1838]

PJ can you please explain how the seller (and those of us who are not sellers) can tell what site the buyer was on when they purchased?

I have been asked several times by sellers when this situation has come up but I have no idea what the answer is.  Is there some way that sellers can tell from the sales details?

[2611geoff]

Hi ,thanks for the input PJ , the postage quoted in the sale and part of the price was registered post international---this doesn't allow tracking or extra cover , only signature on delivery so i hope that is sufficient.----any thoughts PJ.

Since i can't establish the purchase site----i assumed it was the US because his ID stated that he resides in the US , but the postage to Turkey has left me guessing.

His stories of corrupt customs and items getting lost doesn't fill me with confidence and makes it hard to provide proof of delivery.

If i had choice of where to send , as was the case in the past , i would only post Europe and North america ----that choice has been removed from the listing process , just "worldwide or not" , some choice.

Would appreciate any further input.

regards

[2611geoff]

Hi , finally bit the bullet and sent a full refund----note to buyer --"will not reduce value on customs forms".

Thanks for all your replies.

Regards

[mbselections00]

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@2611geoff wrote:

Hi , finally bit the bullet and sent a full refund----note to buyer --"will not reduce value on customs forms".

Thanks for all your replies.

Regards

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Hi, I could be quite wrong and others may come along with a different idea, but I would think you will cop the inevitable defect for refunding (depending how you issued the refund), but if you contact ebay and refer them to your buyers initial request to falsify the customs document you would have a good chance of having the defect removed.

I read somewhere just the other day, that ebay are being much kinder with defect removal these days, hallelujah

Good luck, and at least you can sleep well not worrying about the possible consequences of a 'lost in post customs / item not received'' case

[mbselections00]

When i listed and chose to post worldwide , the listing process did not allow selecting which countries to select.---just worldwide or no international post.

I'm also curious about this comment you made and am surprised no-one has picked up on it.  I tend to list the same way all the time and use existing templates, so whenever I try to do something different, or ebay change things, I get lost !!  But I do post Internationally and nominate to which countries, so will go and have a look and see if I can offer you any clues.  I know there are other members out there way more experienced than myself, so maybe one of them will pop by and offer some input . . . . . . . .

Something is telling me it has something to do with the way you offer International postage - ie. Flat Rate or Calculated by Location perhaps ??

[2611geoff]

Hi , thanks mbselections00 , have just notified Ebay on their ` cancel sale ` page , back the front i know and hopefully that will get me brownie points.

Cancelling the order was easy , way too easy---two buttons clicked , no questions asked and hey presto , somehow doesn't sound right.

Regards

[mbselections00]

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@2611geoff wrote:

Hi , thanks mbselections00 , have just notified Ebay on their ` cancel sale ` page , back the front i know and hopefully that will get me brownie points.

Cancelling the order was easy , way too easy---two buttons clicked , no questions asked and hey presto , somehow doesn't sound right.

Regards

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A bit like when buyers leave a neg by hitting 3 Stars - no questions asked - presto it's done & there's no way of undoing it !!  You are quite correct - somehow it doesn't sound right . . . . .   I've never cancelled an order, but would have thought it wouldn't be that easy & that you would at least have to give an explanation & a reason why.

I just re-listed one of my items so I could have a look at the International Post bit & am talking a BIN listing. so not sure if Auction would be any different as I don't list Auctions, but in the International Postage I had a drop down menu with 3 choices - Calculated : Flat Rate or No International.  I use Calculated and have the option to nominate which countries I want to post to & if I want to exclude any countries, so I'm not sure why that isn't appearing for you also.  I'll try doing some more fiddling & see if I can come up with anything else